Former Military Housing Site To Be Given Futuristic Makeover

A former military housing estate in Germany is to be given a new lease of life.

Patrick Henry Village near Heidelberg was where American Forces lived for sixty years until 2013.

Now architects hope to transform it into a world leading, cutting edge urban development.

The vision for the old military housing estate is an architecturally exciting city district.

It would be based on small-scale mainly digital enterprises in what’s called the sharing economy.

One of the key home produced goods and services being envisaged is car sharing.

Professor Carlo  Ratti - a design specialist now working on the Patrick Henry Village project says:

“When you share more you have two advantages: the first one is that you can use space or infrastructure better so it usually makes economic sense and the second thing is that you interact more with people.”  

All the buildings and transport systems in the new city district would aim to be energy neutral.

How soon work will begin at the one-time US forces housing estate isn’t clear.

Refugees currently occupy part of the site.

What is certain is that these are among the most imaginative plans for a former military base.